Compound floor strip



Dec. 2, 1930. GALASS] 1,783,782 I COMPOUND FLOOR STRIP Filed Feb. 8, 1930 INVENTOR as 7u-z/e G'J/JJ'JI" ATTORN Y Patented Dec. 2, 1930 UNITED STA ES I fPASQUgALEGALASSI, or new YORK, N. Y.

, comrounn rLooRsrnIr Application filed. February 8, 193Q. ;Seria1jNo. 426,882.

Thisinvention relates to improvements in dividing strips ofthe type employed in the construction of terrazzo and similar floors where the floor is divided into a number of I panels arranged according to a predetermined design. j g

Terrazzo, granolithic and "similar floors generally comprise a lower or foundation.

bed made of concrete or cement or mortar or other suitable material, .and anaupper orIfinishing layer generally consisting of a mixture of marble chips and cement, by means of which a good durable surface may be obtained as wellas pleasing designs and 130101 efiects of a practically unlimited "variety V The upper layer which is generally placed position after the foundation layerihas I been allowed to harden to a suflicient degree. of consistency, is generally divided into a number of panels or units in apredetermined arrangement, which areobtained by outlining the desired design by means of dividing strips, placed on or-through the foundation layer. r s I The strips employed are generally made to be produced.

As a'rule however, apt to be considerably more expensive than steel, and therefore it is desirable to substitute steel or'some other inexpensive material for the part'of the strip which 'isembedded into the fioor material and which is. not likely to show even after the floor has.

been subjected to considerable wear.

Ina patent entitled Dividing strip granted I to me May 28, 1929, #1,715,193, I have described and claimeda strip composed of .two sections interlocking with each other by means of male and female joints formed by their inner edge portions. Furthermore, in a copending application entitled Terrazzo floor strips Serial No.-376,809, I have described and claimed a somewhat similar strip in which the joint portions of the strip extend laterally at one side thereof, this construction tending to increasethe rigidity of the structure and doing away with the necessity of providing additional anchoring and positioning means.

adovetailed or equivalent joint.

I have found that in practice the type of construction advocated in thefsaid application is well adapted for use inconnection with extruded sections, but while it is also possible to produce the required joints by bending and forming operations when material in flat strip form isused, a rather large number ofoper ations is required as well as dies and tools of a somewhat icomplicated' character ';Jso that the cost of production of siiph strips is not aslow as might be desir- I also have" found that it is not always necessary in; practice that the two sections composing the strip be permanently joined to each other, since shapes maybe produced iby bending operationswhich will be autoof relatively soft metal such as brass for in I stance, but are also at times made ofidiffe'rent' -materials according to the ornamental re- I quirements of the design and color scheme:

matically locked and anchored in position after the floor material has become hard, even if the two sections can be taken apart previous to the laying of the strip. I have acv I I cordingly devised the type of strip forming the metalemployedis the subject of the present invention, its pri- .mary object being to provide a bimetallic of the character specified, a new construction-of joint between the two sections of which: the strip islcomposed, saidjoint constituting either a permanent or a detachable connection between the two sections-and requiring only simple operations which may .be performed with the expenditure of a rela- ,tivelysmall amount of labor and by means of tools which can be produced at relatively low cost;

; Other objects and advantages of the present invention will more fully appear as the description proceeds and will be set forth and claimed in the appended claims.

My invention is illustrated by way of ere Figs. 3 and 4 are fragmentary views in perspective of strips of still different de-- signs embodying my invention; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical cross section of a terrazzo floor showing the strip illustrated in Fig. 1 in position.

A strip made according to my invention essentially comprises a lower section made of sheet steel or other suitable relatively inexpensive material and an upper section supported thereby or interlocking therewith, said upper section being made of the material entering into the floor design to be pro duced and consisting of a strip being bent outwardly to form a horizontal or inclined flange projecting laterally of the body of the strip, said flange forming part of the connection of the upper with the lower section.

The basic idea is illustrated in Fig. 1 representing a. floor strip composed of an upper section and a lower section 11. The upper section is in the form of a long relatively narrow strip of thethickness required by the floor design, the inner edge portion 12 of said strip being bent laterally of the outer and major portion 13 thereof to form a downwardly inclined longitudinal flange projecting at one side of said strip.

The lower strip section has its inner edge portion bent downwardly at one side at 14 at an angle equivalent to that of flange 12 of the upper section.

The longitudinal flange thus formed by the bend 14: is then bent outwardly at 15 and inwardly at 16 to form a U-shaped channeled chamber 17 inclined to the body 18 of the said lower section at an angle corresponding to the angle of flange 12, said flange being adapted to register with and to receive said flange as the drawing shows.

Flange 12 of the upper section 10 may be inserted within chamber 17 before or after said chamber has been formed, and no connection other than that which may be obtained by frictional resistance between the contact surfaces is needed in order to render the floor strip ready for use. If desired it is even possible to make the longitudinal groove of chamber 17 wide enough to permit of flange 12 being freely inserted therein or removed therefrom.

When the floor is laid as shown in Fig. i 5, the lower layer 19 of the floor is first laid upon the floor foundation 20 and then the dividing strip is inserted in position as shown, the upper edge of the flange forming chamber 17 being preferably used as a means of gauging the depth at which the strip is to be inserted within the lower layer 19.

When the strip is thus placed in position it may either be in its completed form shown, or else the lower section may be placed in position and the flanged inner edge of the upper sectionmay'then be inserted in position within chamber 17 if a loose connection is provided therebetween. The outer or ver tical portion 13 of the upper section is preferably as wide as the upper or finishing layer 21 of the floor is deep, and therefore the upper edge 22 of the strip will be flush with the upper surface of said floor.

It will be observed thatby virtue of this construction the laterally projecting flanges which form the joint between the two sections will effectively act as anchoring means both for the lower and for the upper section after the plastic material of which the floor is composed has become hard.

This result is obtained by the use of relatively inexpensive and standard materials such as sheet metal strips, andby the performance of few, simple and relatively inexpensiveoperations, so that a strip of this character can be produced at a cost which is materially below that of an equivalent product requiring the use of specially shaped extruded bars.

The floor strip illustrated in Fig. 2 is similar to the one just described being composed of an upper section having a vertical upper or outer portion 23 and an inner-porti on bent to form an outwardly inclined flange 24, and a lower section having its inner edge portion bent to form a longitudinal chamber adapted to receive flange 24; the difference being that the channeled structure forming chamber 25 is connected to the main or body portion 26 of the lower section by a horizontal tract 27 affording a means of determining the exact vertical alignment of the strip by resting upon the surface of the lower floor layer when the strip is inserted therethrough.

An equivalent result may be obtained by forming the two sections of the strip with horizontal instead of inclined interengaging flanges. For instance, in F 3 the upper section is formed into a vertical body portion 28 and a horizontal flange 29 laterally extending therefrom while the lower section is composed of a vertical or body portion 30 and has its inner edge portion bent outwardly and then upwardly and inwardly to form a horizontal channeled chamber 31 adapted to re ceive flange 29 as shown. in this case, the lower surface 32 of said chamber can beused positioning means determining both the depth of insertion and the correct alignment ber itself may be used as "anchoring means.

. claims.

. of, the other section having at least part of' Fig. 4 shows the possibility of inclining flange 33 and the channeled chamber 3 L interlocking therewith upwardly] instead of downwardly as shown in Figs. 1, 2, this arrangement intensifying to a Certain extent the-an choring action. The drawing also illustrates the possibility of'using' for the upper section a drawn bar composed of a relatively thick head portion 35 and a comparatively thin rib portion 36, this constructionbeing usable to advantage when designs showing relatively wide metal strips are to be produced. i v

Although in all the examples illustrated .isection having .at least part of its inneredge embracing "said flange so as to connect said sections to each other, the resulting laterally extending connection aifording positioning and anchoring means for said strip.

i B SQUALE GALASSI.

the laterally extending flange is shown in con nection with the upper section while the channeled rib member or flange interengaging therewith is shown in connection with the lower section it is obvious that these conditions could be reversed and likewise other strips embodying my invention may be made in forms diflerent'from those shown without I departing from the inventive idea; the drawings will therefore be'understood as being intended for illustrative purposes only and not in a limiting sense. Accordingly, I reserve the right to carry my invention into practice in all those ways and manners which may enter, fairly, into the scope of the appended I claim: i I

1. A divider strip for terrazzo floors or the like, comprising upper'and lower longitudinal sections, one of said sections having at its inner edge an uninterrupted flange extending laterally of the bodyv on one side only thereof, the other section having at least part of its inner edge embracing said flange so as to connect said sections to each other.

2. A divider strip for terrazzo floors or the 7 like, comprising upper and lower longitudinal sections, one of said sections having at its inner edge an uninterrupted flange extending laterally of the body on one side only thereits inner edge embracing said flange so as to connect said sections to each other, theresulting laterally extending connectionbelng adapted to act aspositioning and anchoring means for said strip. 7

3. A terrazzo or similar floor strip,."compr slng upper and lower longitudlnal sections, the upper section having its inneredge bent to form an uninterrupted flange extending laterally of the body thereof, the lower 7 x section having at least part of its inner edge embracing said flange so as to connect said I sections to each other. I

, 4. A terrazzo or sinnlar floor strlp, comprising upper and lower longitudinal sections, the upper section having its inner edge bent to form an uninterrupted flange extending laterally of the body thereof, the lower v 

